Monks and Acharyas
Kurgadu Muni
कूरगडु मुनि · કૂરગડુ મુનિ
The monk who could not fast
- 4 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
- Shvetambar telling
A gentle young monk cannot go a single day without food, even on the holiest day of the year, while the monks around him fast for weeks. On Samvatsari morning, everyone learns who has truly understood the path.
What it teaches Equanimity Humility Forbearance
The opening of the children's telling
Long ago, a merchant had a little son who loved to listen to the monks. After hearing Acharya Dharmaghoshsuri, the boy asked to become a monk, and the Acharya said yes. In time, the young monk was called Kurgadu.
Kurgadu studied hard and was gentle and polite to everyone. But there was one thing he could not do. He could not fast. His body could not bear hunger, so he had to eat every day, even during Paryushan.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Pride can spoil even a great effort, and humility can lift even a small one.
To talk about together
Why do you think the heavenly beings bowed to Kurgadu and not to the monks who fasted?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.